Appreciation
by GerardSprings
Summary: A very strange couple, believe me. And no, it isn't nesecarily incest. Read and find out what I'm talking about. This on'e for you, Fraser.


Appreciation

Appreciation 

Authors Note: It's me again! After stirring up trouble with my last romance fic, (Eiko/Zidane) I decided to go one better. I won't reveal exactly who it is yet, but, as usual, one of the couple is Zidane. I'm kind of exploring a few alternative relationships, preparing for a real epic of a fic. I hope. Speaking of epics, read Griever in the FF8 section. That's one kick ass fic. But like I said, I'm exploring a few Zidane/someone other than Dagger couples at the moment. For some reason, a romance not involving Zidane and someone doesn't have the right feel to it. The sex of the other person doesn't worry me though. But don't fear, _this _fic won't be Yaoi. _This _fic being the key phrase. And Fraser, you prude, If you're reading this, you are _almost _safe from anything _interesting…_ I need to teach you appreciation of NC-17 :) And Yaoi. And Yuri. And Bestiality…Wait… I'll let you keep your disgust with bestiality. Even I think Aeris and Red is a little sick. But only a little. Anybody out there who has no idea who I am talking about/to, Fraser is a guy from my school, who is also into fanfiction. I was going through a list of relationships I had read about, and he decided to walk away. Maybe run would be more appropriate… Anyway, you are about to read a fic with a brand new relationship. I think… But once again, Dagger fans will be annoyed. How else am I going to write a Zidane/[Censored] fic? Kleenex may be required for the prologue, if you are that kind of person. And even though I said there wasn't anything_ interesting_, all I mean is it's no worse than you'd get in a normal movie. But Fraser, you may or may not enjoy this…On with the fic! ( I realise now that this fic is really a load of fluff. If you want to read something new and different, read it anyway. But, I messed up the plot, by not putting one in. I was bored when I wrote this)

Prologue … 

He walked out of his room, and purposefully made his way to the small garden. He sat down and looked around. He remembered the times they had spent here, the happiness they had shared. Tears came to his eyes, as he stood up and walked over to her grave. He took his dagger out of his belt, and held it up to the midday sun. The light caught on its edge, and refracted in the crystal hilt. He gripped the dagger, which had inspired her name, the name that she had given herself shortly after they met, as hot tears streamed down his face. He reversed his grip and held it lightly by the blade, and tossed it up in the air. It landed in the still-soft earth, and drove itself in up to the hilt. Don't mourn forever, she had said. With this final gesture, he steeled himself, and walked to where the Invincible was docked.

Some years later… 

He woke up, and left his cabin. He walked to the bridge, and stood in the warm glow of the helm. _Where do you wish to go? _the ship's voice echoed in his mind. He had been surprised to discover the ship could do this. It even seemed to have a personality. _Wherever you want to. _He thought back. The clouds streamed past and he wondered the limits of his ship. Only one way to find out. _What is the limit to your power, ship? _He asked, not expecting the answer he got. _My limits are almost non-existent. I can travel to any world. I can even do things your mind is not prepared to handle. Regretfully, you have seen my destructive power. But I could destroy this world, or any other. I simply told Garland I could not. For I knew you would come. I wanted to meet you, one of the greatest of out race. _Zidane was unsure what surprised him most. The ship's power, or it's desire to meet him. He also noticed a quirk in the ship's personality, that it considered itself a genome. This ship's alien mind triggered an impulse in him. _Ship, take me to the Black Mage Village. I want to speak with my own kind. _He sensed a feeling of approval from the ship, as it turned around. Quicker than ever before, the ship sped to the village. It landed outside, and Zidane walked in. The genomes all walked over to him, and greeted him. They all regarded him as a hero, as he had saved their lives when the insane Kuja destroyed terra. They had developed personalities, away from the influence of terra. The black mages also made their way over to him. The village had been expanded, to accommodate the genomes. But there was someone he didn't see. "Where's Mikoto?" he asked a nearby person. "She is strange." They answered " She has taken up the ways of your people. She told us it was something you had told her." Zidane was a little frustrated. "That doesn't tell me where she is, does it?" The genome apologised "Sorry. She is bathing, but as I understand things to be, your people have customs that apply to this situation." "Yes, we do. I'll wait for her." Zidane answered, and sat down on the small wooden patio. Mikoto was the third of Garland's special projects, and even though the other genomes had developed personalities to some extent, they were still not very interesting to talk to. Mikoto, on the other hand, was like him. And from what he had just heard, she had embraced his world and it's customs. The rest still had trouble working out the finer points of a lot of concepts.

He was stirred out of his reverie by a light tap on the shoulder. "Hi" he said, and turned around. "Hi" she said back. "You wanted to see me?" She asked. "Yeah." He replied. "I wanted to talk to someone like me." She smiled "how is Dagger. Zidane's face fell. "She died a few years ago. It still hurts." A look of sympathy crossed Mikoto's face "I'm sorry. I share your pain. She was beautiful, and had a great heart. She saved us as much as you did." She said, consoling him "I see you still fly that thing around"She said, changing the subject, and looking over his head at the huge and slightly garish ship. "Yeah" he said with a grin "It attracts a lot of attention. I like turning heads." She grinned back " I can imagine. Come back to my house, we can talk over coffee." They walked over to the small cottage she was living in. It had three small rooms, a bedroom, kitchen and living room. She filled the kettle, and put it on the stove. Zidane studied her. She looked so much different to when he had met her on terra. She wore jeans and a T-shirt, both of which were fairly tattered. She had tanned, after spending time on the mainly sunny world of Gaia. Feelings that Zidane had chained down for years bubbled up, and he quickly quelled them again. But Dagger's last words faintly echoed in his head. "Don't grieve forever, Zidane…"

Mikoto's voice woke him from his thoughts. "Sugar?" she asked "One, thanks" he answered, as she brought the cups over. She thought for a moment, then asked him what have you done since her death, Zidane" "Just travelled" he replied "Visiting friends, going back to old places. Trying to put her death out of my mind and live again. You?" She laughed "Nothing interesting. I have just lived here. Helped out with the construction, helped clear the forest for farming. Teaching the other genomes how was a slight problem. I'm sick of this place now. I want to travel too. When you leave, would you take me, too?" Zidane smiled "I can imagine. I've got no problem with you coming. After speaking with the Invincible on the way here, I discovered a fair bit. It seems the ship is more powerful than it let on. I feel like testing a few of its limits." He drained the rest of the cup, and continued "Why waste time? Let's go!" He grinned, and she matched his expression. They walked out of the village, and boarded the ship. 

_I see you have company, Zidane. That's one relationship I approve of._ Zidane looked at Mikoto with an embarrassed look, and saw her with a slightly impish grin. The ship must transmit to everyone. _Shut up…_He thought back _I want somewhere sunny. Any planets with a permanent summer, Ship? Lots of beaches, too. And a bar._ He asked, with a grin. Mikoto smiled with approval. _That can easily be arranged. _The ship's main engines fired, and the clouds streamed past around them. Them they were above the clouds, and quickly climbing. The sky around them darkened, and they soon found themselves in orbit around Gaia. "Wow" Zidane breathed, looking out at the stars around them. He felt a surge from the ship, and the walls of the bridge around them slowly became transparent. All he could see was stars, except for the shrinking ball of Gaia behind them. He heard a gasp from Mikoto, who was looking around amazed. He heard her footsteps, and she walked up to stand close beside him. This surprised him a little. He wondered what she had been thinking over the years. Go with it, he thought. He could deal with anything else later. _You two ready to go? _The ship enquired _Or do you wish to retire to a cabin…_ Zidane blushed, and Mikoto grinned even more impishly than before, if it was possible. _That's quite enough, ship. If you felt pain, I would hit you. Now let's go… _

_ _

The lights dimmed, as the ship gathered power. Beams of light fired, and met on front of the ship. There was a flash, as the beams collided. The light cleared, and the main engines fired to take them through the distorted area of space formed by the ship's drive. The ship breached the barrier, and was quickly sucked in. They appeared around a planet with a bang, and the ship lurched. Zidane fell to the deck, followed rather quickly by Mikoto, who fell right on top of him. She quickly clambered up, and offered him a hand. He took her hand, and she helped him up. He found himself close to her. They were of equal height, and she was staring into his eyes. On impulse, he leaned in, and kissed her. She returned the kiss, and he felt her tongue slide into his mouth. He slid his hands up from her back to her hair, and felt her tail curl around his. She slid her hands up the back of his shirt, and her hands felt warm. He pulled her in tighter. Suddenly, he heard a mental cough from the ship. _Somewhere else please…_

They broke off, embarrassed. He had forgot about the ship. _What happened to your past obsession, ship? Lost your matchmaking streak already?_ Mikoto was breathless, and her face was flushed. Her face was split with a huge grin, from ear to ear. Zidane was sure his matched, and he felt hot. But the moment was gone. _Land, ship. I wanna check this place out!_Mikoto grinned again "Maybe we can continue on the beach, Zidane?"

_ _

They stepped off the ship onto the sand of a postcard beach. It was the kind of beach that doesn't really exist, and is shown in movies and on postcards, thought Zidane. The ramp closed behind them. " I wonder if anyone else lives here?" mused Mikoto. "If not, we have the beach to ourselves!" She added with a grin. She seemed perfectly comfortable with the current situation, but he was a little unsure. Things like that just happen, sometimes. But what would come of it? She was pretty, and she seemed to have ideas about him, but… who cares, he thought. Take it as it comes. If anything more than a bit of fun came of it, he would sort that out later. They walked over to a dune and sat down. Due to some feat of planning by the ship, or due to 'its capabilities that he was unable to comprehend' it was sunset. She took his hand in hers, and they just sat, watching the sunset. The air had cooled down, but the sand was still warm. Even so, he sat closer to Mikoto. She welcomed the warmth, but said nothing. This was more than the 'bit of fun' Zidane had expected. She seemed to want something more. And more confusing, he was not sure if he didn't. He was once again brought back from his thoughts by Mikoto "I'm cold, Zidane". Either that ship was bad at planning, or it still had the ideas it had before. If the latter, why disappoint?"Come closer" he replied, and gathered her into his lap. The sun was only just showing on the horizon, and the sky was darkening. He wrapped his arms around Mikoto, and fel her relax. She leaned back on him, and they sat together until the sun had disappeared. He kissed her neck, then sat up and asked "Want to leave?" She shook her head, and moved so that she was straddling his legs. "This is too good an opportunity to waste!" she answered with a grin. She laced he fingers behind his head, and pulled him so their noses almost touched. He tilted his head, and she moved her lips to meet his. He slid his tongue over her lips, and ran it over her teeth. She moved in closer to him, and he felt her press up against his body. He ran his fingers up her spine, and she shivered with pleasure, tightening her legs around him further. He moved his hands down, and she gasped, breaking off the kiss. She pushed him onto his back, and sat up. Her jeans showed just how exited she had been, and he smiledIt was affecting him, too, but it didn't seem like she had noticed. He was a little worried though. What _did_ she want? Oh well, he thought, only one way to find out. He pulled her back down, and slid his hands up the back of her shirt. She stiffened, and he slowly moved his hands around to her front, to her waist. He moved his hands up, and she breathed in sharply. She sat up again, and quickly took her shirt off. It became fairly apparent to him what she wanted, as she slid his shirt over his head. Her jeans were fairly soaked by this time. He sat up too, as she began unbuttoning his pants.

He woke up to see the sun just peeking over the horizon, colouring the sea. He eased Mikoto off him, and stood up. She was mumbling contentedly in her sleep, with a small smile on her face. They had shared a lot of fun last night, he thought with a grin. They were both covered in sand, and he was a little sticky. Unfortunately for her, he thought, some of the sand may be a little tricky to get rid of. He gathered their clothes up into a bundle, and knelt down next to Mikoto. Her eyelids fluttered, and she woke up, still smiling. "I need a shower, I think. Apart from that, I feel fine. How are you?" "Same as you" he said, smiling back. " I need a shower. I don't want to get dressed sandy. But the ship will either be surprised or pleased when we walk in like this…

A/N: I know, It might have gotten a little heavy there for some of you. But, I think it was necessary. Those of you who enjoyed it, good for you. I hope nobody enjoyed it _too_ much… But after writing that, I think I have settled on the specifics of my 'big epic fic'. That is, if it turns out to be a big epic fic. What I mean by a big epic fic, is an action/drama/romance fic. I've got an idea for the general plot, but as always, I'll write it as it comes. You might have noticed that my romance fics so far have all really been a simple affair, both this one, and my previous Eiko/Zidane fic. This one was heavier than the other, and a lot less angsty. Also, I'd appreciate to find out the results of my little experiment I have been conducting on dagger fans out there. Tell me, what do you prefer, when Zidane is paired up with someone else. Killing Dagger off, or breaking up Zidane/Dagger? Review! 

Mail me at [Zidane_San@hotmail.com][1]! 

   [1]: mailto:Zidane_San@hotmail.com



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